Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI)

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 19,207 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,963% compared to the average volume of 931 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on JCI shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $64.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. UBS Group downgraded Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $68.00 in a report on Monday, May 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.82.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JCI opened at $67.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Johnson Controls International has a 1-year low of $47.90 and a 1-year high of $74.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $68.12 and its 200-day moving average is $62.04.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.03. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 6.32%. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson Controls International will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 24th. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is presently 59.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 9,342 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.50, for a total transaction of $611,901.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,662,259. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 9,342 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.50, for a total transaction of $611,901.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,662,259. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.86, for a total value of $188,580.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 106,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,719,168.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,085,145. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Johnson Controls International by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $814,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 366,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,524,000 after purchasing an additional 18,675 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 77,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,107,000 after purchasing an additional 12,042 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,090,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.4% in the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 46,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,455,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson Controls International Company Profile

Johnson Controls International plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in engineering, manufacturing, commissioning, and retrofitting building products and systems in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in four segments: Building Solutions North America, Building Solutions EMEA/LA, Building Solutions Asia Pacific, and Global Products.